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发帖数: 29846 | 1 U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch plans to launch a full-scale civil
rights investigation into use of force by Baltimore police officers,
according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
The decision came as local officials pressed the Department of Justice to
launch an inquiry similar to investigations into police departments in
Ferguson, Mo., and Cleveland, examining whether officers engaged in patterns
of excessive force. In both of those cities, unrest erupted after unarmed
people were killed by police.
Attorney General Lynch visits Baltimore
Rebuilding Baltimore. On the job just over a week, the top U.S. law
enforcement officer comes to the city, pledging federal help and vowing to
help the city get back on its feet.
Lynch visited Baltimore this week and met the family of Freddie Gray, the
man who died last month of a severed spine and other injuries sustained
while in police custody. Lynch said earlier this week that the Justice
Department might need to go beyond a voluntary, collaborative review of use
of force by city police that began in October.
"Although the city has made significant strides in their collaborative
reform efforts with the Community Oriented Policing Services Office, I have
not ruled out the possibility that more may need to be done," Lynch said
earlier this week.
An announcement of the broader investigation is expected Friday, according
to a law enforcement official who requested anonymity because the decision
had not been made public.
Such civil rights probes examine whether police departments have a history
of discrimination or using force beyond standard guidelines, and can lead to
years of court monitoring.
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8
The Justice Department's civil rights divisions has launched civil rights
investigations into 20 police departments in the past six years. They
examine excessive force, discriminatory harassment, false arrests, and
unlawful stops, searches or arrests.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski were among those
urging Lynch to launch an investigation.
"In many cities throughout the country, including my own city of Baltimore,
the trust between community and police is broken," Mikulski told Lynch at a
Senate committee hearing Thursday. "We must do all we can to restore that
trust. We need criminal justice reform undertaken with the fierce urgency of
now."
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Caption U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch, right, visits Baltimore Police Commissioner
Anthony Batts and other officers at the Central District during her visit to
Baltimore.
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Caption U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch, right, meets Officer Carlos Feliciano Jr. who
was injured last week during the unrest in Baltimore.
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Caption U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun
U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch, right, visits Baltimore Police
Commissioner Anthony Batts and other officers at the Central District during
her visit to Baltimore.
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Caption U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun
U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch meets with officers at the Central
District.
U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Caption U.S Attorney Loretta Lynch
Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun
U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch, right, visits Baltimore Police
Commissioner Anthony Batts and other officers at the Central District during
her visit to Baltimore.
Other Democratic lawmakers from Maryland sent a letter to Lynch expressing
their support for a review. Sen. Ben Cardin and Reps. Elijah E. Cummings,
John Delaney, Donna F. Edwards, Steny Hoyer, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John
Sarbanes and Chris Van Hollen signed the letter.
"Such an investigation could address issues such as allegations of
persistent patterns of police misconduct, use of excessive force,
discriminatory policing or use of profiling, and improper stops, searches,
or arrests," they wrote. "We would welcome a detailed report on the BPD
along with recommendations to reform this critical agency in a timely manner
."
Before receiving word that Lynch planned to proceed with an investigation,
police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts welcomed calls for a more in-depth
review "with open arms." He also noted that the department had made
significant steps toward reducing complaints of violence against its
officers.
cComments
@lance917 no Lance I see both sides and you don't , your white male
privilege blinds you
larrygr3
at 11:16 AM May 08, 2015
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31
"We have never shied away from scrutiny or assistance," Batts said in a
statement. "Our work is ongoing, and anyone who wishes to be a part of
helping the department better connect with the community will always be
welcome."
The city is already undertaking a voluntary collaborative project with the
Justice Department and until Wednesday, Rawlings-Blake had resisted calls
for a higher-level "pattern or practice" review.
The collaborative review began in October after The Baltimore Sun reported
that the city has paid $5.7 million in 102 court judgments and settlements
for alleged police misconduct since 2011. Nearly all of the people who
received payouts were cleared of criminal charges.
Sun Investigation: Undue Force
Sun Investigation: Undue Force
When Lynch visited Baltimore, she met with community leaders and officials
in the aftermath of violence that shook the city after the death of Gray.
The 25-year-old died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center a week after being
arrested by city police. Six officers have been charged in connection with
his death.
A civil rights probe into the Ferguson police department was launched after
Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was killed last August. A report
released in March found police and court officials routinely violated the
rights of black residents.
An investigation was launched into the Cleveland police department in March
2013 after a police chase ended in the fatal shootings of two unarmed people
. It found a pattern of officers shooting at suspects who did not pose
immediate threats and the use of force on suspects who had already been
detained.
At Thursday's Senate hearing, Mikulski also questioned Lynch on whether
federal grant money for policing could be tied to police agreeing to abide
by national standards on racial bias and the use of force. She said many
communities feel like the Justice Department hands over funds without trying
to hold police accountable.
Lynch said the department works to train local police and pairs departments
across the country so they can work together, and that it tries to use grant
funding as an incentive for them to improve their practices.
Reporter Scott Dance contributed to this story. | D*******o
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